It was just two years ago that Flatirons Community Church moved into a 162,000-square-foot space on South Boulder Road in Lafayette that once housed a Walmart and an Albertsons. Now that cavernous complex is feeling cramped.

Not surprising when you consider the growth trend at Flatirons, which has seen the numbers in its congregation explode from just over 10,000 in 2011 to about 15,000 today, making it the largest church by attendance in Colorado. Teaching pastor Scott Nickell said he expects the number of worshippers at Flatirons to double by 2015.

"It's a good problem to have," Nickell said Thursday.

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But it's not one the church -- which launched as Trinity Bible Evangelical Church in 1983 and held its first service at Centaurus High School -- is ignoring.

Late last month, Flatirons finalized a $5 million deal to buy the vacant 51,200-square-foot Lookout Mountain Community Church and two adjacent office buildings in Genesee, with plans to turn the property into a second campus.

The new center will likely open in the spring of 2014, in time for Easter services.

"What brought us to the table was looking ahead and asking what we do when we max out our capacity here," Nickell said, noting that adding services beyond the four the church offers on the weekend would have limited efficacy. "Nobody really wants to go to a 3 p.m. Sunday service."

'One to watch'

Shari Taylor, associate publisher of religious trade magazine Outreach, said Flatirons must be doing something right to bring in the kind of following it has managed to attract over the last few years. Outreach ranked Flatirons second in the nation in terms of growth last year, adding 3,725 worshippers -- a growth rate of 38 percent -- from 2011 to 2012.

The magazine also placed Flatirons at the 23rd slot on its list of the 100 largest churches in America.

"They've been one to watch," Taylor said.

Nickell said there's no doubt that Flatirons is no longer just a Boulder County church, in spite of its legacy in the last couple of decades of operating out of schools in Boulder, a carpet store in Lafayette and then in a 40,000-square-foot space in Lafayette Marketplace.

It draws hundreds of families from all over the Front Range, from Parker to Estes Park and from Evergreen to Greeley. It's conceivable, Nickell said, that Flatirons could establish four or more additional campuses throughout the metro area in the coming years to accommodate those who now have to spend a significant amount of time in their cars getting to services in Lafayette.

Like Brian Hornbeck, 40, who drives an hour one way from his home in Littleton each week to Flatirons. He said he would take advantage of the closer Genesee location and put the time saved into volunteering for the church.

"It would allow me to get more involved with the church," he said. "I have a crazy work schedule that doesn't allow me to do things at night or on the weekends with the church."

Hornbeck, who joined Flatirons after hearing about the unconventional services from a relative, said the church's use of live rock music and gritty from-the-street messaging is refreshingly different from most Christian churches.

"I liked what I heard -- what they don't do is throw things in your face," Hornbeck said. "They can open five more campuses with no problem."

Growth 'at all cost'

Like Hornbeck, many of those who attend Flatirons had negative experiences at other churches or lost their faith in organized religion. They found Flatirons' worship series tackling tough issues like divorce, alcohol abuse and financial ruin a more authentic way to deal with life's challenges.

Professor Scott Thumma, of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, said if Flatirons has a compelling message and a compelling way of delivering it, the church could continue to grow quickly.

"Indeed, society shows signs of increasing secularity, yet megachurches and other nontraditional churches continue to draw people, often from smaller and more traditional churches," he said.

But Thumma said Flatirons needs to be careful with the pace and footprint of its growth, lest it lose its focus.

"Flatirons has grown rapidly, for sure," he said. "Our research shows rapid growth is healthy as long as the infrastructure and lay leadership development keeps up with the growth pace. A serious situation can arise, however, when the focus becomes on maintaining the growth rate at all cost. Growth and continued success become the end rather than sincere ministry and spiritual growth."

Nickell said the expansion of Flatirons Community Church is an organic phenomenon rather than one forced by a need for a larger donor base or marquee buildings. Flatirons doesn't advertise, and it doesn't send out mailers seeking new congregants.

It has a presence on Facebook and Twitter, but Nickell said that is primarily to communicate to existing members. The church's growth, Nickell said, happens almost exclusively through word-of-mouth -- people telling friends and family that they have to check out a service in Lafayette.

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